Arabic ‘under threat in Gulf states’
This is so true, you really need to be able to speak English here, more than Arabic. when you are shopping,all of the sales assistants speak English. Whilst english is important, i think losing this part of the culture in Gulf Countries is sad.
Arabic ‘under threat in Gulf states’
By Ourouba Hussein/Gulf Times
Dr Marzook speaking at the conference
ARABIC is endangered and fading away due to the domination of the English language, particularly in the GCC communities where non-Arabs live in large numbers, a senior official at the Ministry of Culture, Arts and Heritage, said yesterday.
Cultural expert Dr Marzook Basher Binmarzook, who is also Gulf Times’ Editor-in-Chief, was speaking at a press conference to announce a seminar titled ‘Language and Identity’, given GCC countries as a case to discuss, from February 15 to 17 at Sharq Village and Spa.
“Language is the key issue for the societies’ identities”, he explained while observing that GCC countries were facing a great danger in this regard, due to the non-Arabic-speaking majority.
Dr Marzook maintained that the danger was due also to reasons like the domination of the English language in school curriculums and the great impact the media has on the Arabic-speaking audience.
The expert noted that although Arabs should spar a war to protect their original language, this did not mean an appeal for a closed identity.
“The Arab identity is always open to other cultures”, he said while calling for an interactive Arab identity that provided the world a cultural model.
Dr Marzook highlighted the seminar’s agenda, noting that senior social, media and Arabic language experts would address the issue of the language and identity.
The seminar would address the issues of the activation of Arabic in the computerised education development, how the English language had dominated other languages in the context of globalisation, the right and wrong concepts of both Arabic and English languages, the benefits of the English Language dominating in school curriculums, the dangers posed by the foreign labour on the GCC societies, and the media’s impact in this regard.
Dr Marzook maintained that the seminar would come up with practical recommendations to address the problems of the Arabic language. |
